An effort in f a c i l i t a t i o n

Do Not Despair of Allah’s Mercy!

Islam is all about positive thinking and action. Despair and pessimism have no place in Islam.

I would like to present two beautiful verses that inculcate positive thinking, kindling hope and killing despair. The love and affection the Creator has towards His noble creation is distinctly visible in these verses.

“Say: “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Surah Az-Zumar 39: 53)

Allah could have have straightaway told ‘O My servants! Do not despair…..” But NO! Allah is defining the nature of His servants before He announces the Good News!

Please underline and underscore the phrase ‘allazeena asrafu ‘alaa anfusihim’, ‘those who have transgressed against themselves by sin and evil’.

While we begin and continue to read this verse an air of positivism strikes our mind, heart and soul. And when we read ‘la taqnathu mir rahmatillah….’ our heart is filled with utmost satisfaction and an intense feeling of love reflects back to Allah that how Kind and Generous Allah is towards me – me whose list of sins never seems to cease!

The next verse arrests our feelings, organises one’s thought-frame and gives an action-plan so that we don’t land in Fool’s Paradise and start doing sins again and again thinking that Allah is Al Ghafoor and Ar-Raheem so let me do whatever I want!

“And return [in repentance] to your Lord and submit to Him before the punishment comes upon you; then you will not be helped.” (Surah Az-Zumar 39: 54)

After making us realise that we must not carry despair, as it is the worst thing a Muslim can have, (In fact despairing of Allah’s mercy is a sign of Kufr) are commanded by Allah to turn towards Him in repentance and continue with our life in submission to His Will, which He has made manifest through Qur’an and Sunnah.

The crux of the matter is we don’t know when we will die!

So the main point is stressed at the end of the verse: Don’t Delay. Don’t postpone things. Start repenting now. You don’t know when is your end. May be this could be your last Ramadhaan!

We always talk about Allah’s punishment but we forget about how He is the Most Merciful! He helps us at every step of our life….we are the ones who are so ungrateful to Him. There is so much we need to do to be closer to Allah.
May He forgive our sins, Aameen.
JazakAllah Khair brother for the reminder.